


Behind Closed Doors

by KuteKittehs



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Abuse, Aftermath of Violence, Emotional Hurt, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, Family Issues, Getting to Know Each Other, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Light Angst, Love/Hate, M/M, Mood Swings, Past Abuse, Past Violence, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Sexism, Physical Abuse, Protective Steve, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Threats of Violence, Trust Issues, Verbal Abuse, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-03 01:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12738669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuteKittehs/pseuds/KuteKittehs
Summary: Steve Harrington, resident kickass babysitter and helpful driver, went to collect Max. Instead, he stumbled on something that upset and angered him.As a result, Steve more or less took Billy and moved him into his home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, I fell in love with these two but wasn't planning on writing anything for them. Then I saw all the antis on tumblr and I was like "hehe, how about no" so I decided to write this for them.
> 
> Steve and Billy deserve happiness. And anyone who ships Harringrove does too, regardless of stupid antis.

As the resident kickass babysitter and useful chauffeur, Steve Harrington was on his way to pick up Max. It had become a common occurence for him to collect the kids and get them to wherever they needed to be, especially when they had group outings, and, if he was completely honest, he actually kind of enjoyed it. The kids, though complete losers, were great. They were his great losers. And so, Steve was driving towards the Hargove home.

He pulled up on the street outside and honked twice quickly and held an extra one for slightly longer. It was something Dustin had made him start doing so all the kids knew it was him outside. Usually, it took the kids about ten minutes to get outside but after half an hour Steve got worried.

Wanting to make sure everything was fine, Steve got out the car and jogged up to door. He raised his hand to knock only to hear muffled yelling and loud banging. On top of that, he thought he could hear a child sobbing.

Instantly, on alert, Steve made his way around to the side of the house where Max's room was situated. He looked in the window to see her curled up by her door, hands pressed to her ears and face scrunched as she cried.

Steve gently knocked on her window. She startled when she saw him, hastily wiping away her tears, but she still scrambled to open the window for him.

"I'm so-sorry, I couldn't he-hear the signal over them," she got out through her hiccuping sobs. Steve could clearly hear the yelling in the other room. Without a second thought, Steve hauled himself into the room to wrap her into a tight hug. She melted into it and pressed her face close to his chest for comfort.

"There is no reason for you to be sorry, Max," he told her seriously. He waited for her calm down a little before asking what was happening.

"Neil and Billy are fighting again," she muttered, energy drained from her intense crying, "I think Neil hit him again." The moment the words left her mouth she slapped her hands over it and her eyes widened. "I wasn't supposed to say that. He's going to be so mad," she said as tears started to well up in her eyes again. It was obvious to Steve she feared punishment for the confession.

Steve felt angry. He'd never felt so angry in his life as in that moment, hands clenching as he tried to remain calm for Max.

"Listen to me very carefully, Max," Steve said slowly, looking into her eyes seriously. "I want you to climb out your window, get in my car and wait for me."

Max nodded, wiped at her face again, and jumped out the window. She hesitated when she was outside. "Please, be careful," she asked. Then she disappeared, eager to escape the situation.

Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, Steve stood.

He could definitely hear screaming from somewhere in the house. It was not enough for him to hear the actual words but it still made him upset all the same.

It was the same anger he had felt when he had first taken his nailed bat to the demogorgon, it was that same vicious, protective instinct that flared up whenever any his kids or friends were in danger.

He knew he had to remain calm though. These were people he was dealing with not Upside Down monsters. As such, he could not simply take a nailed bat to their faces. He had to at least try and remain calm.

He opened the door. The screaming was louder. He stepped out, unnoticed, and saw Neil stood over a prone Billy. Neil raised his foot to kick Billy in the ribs.

In that moment, Steve had lost any chance of reasoning and calm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little surprised at how many people are interested in this story but it makes me incredibly happy. I'm glad Billy and Steve are getting the love they deserve. I'm also glad for everyone that enjoys reading this story. Thank you :)

"Get the hell off of him, man," Steve screamed as he literally jumped at Neil. The man, completely taken by surprise, stumbled under the weight and fell to the floor, narrowly avoiding landing on Billy.

"Who the fucking hell are you?" Neil growled, easily throwing the teenager off of him. He quickly pulled himself to his feet and Steve did the same. The stench of alcohol on his breath was strong. He glared at Steve and then his gaze traveled to Billy still groaning in pain on the floor. "This one of your bitches, boy?" he growled, getting ready to boot Billy again.

Steve intercepted him instantly, putting himself between the older man and his son. "You touch him and watch Chief Hopper fry your ass," Steve threatened, eyes dark as he stared at Neil.

The man simply laughed. "I could make sure my buddies sort that shitty excuse for a sheriff," he sniffed haughtily. "Now," he continued, taking a threatening step forward, "I suggest you get out of the way and out of my house, you little cocksucker, before I make you."

Steve punched the guy in the face as hard as he physically could. He glared hard at the man as he recovered from the blow. "You touch anyone else tonight and my family's lawyers will disgrace you," Steve hissed, his threat clear and full of truth.

Neil hesitated, obviously assessing the truth in his words. Steve continued to glare at him, fury barely contained, and hoped his eyes conveyed how much he wanted to tear the man apart. At the moment, Steve was a mother bear defending her young and he would be damned if he let Neil do anything else to hurt them.

"Get out of my house," Neil said, moving back. He gestured to Billy. "And take that piece of shit with you."

Steve reached down to Billy, who had stopped groaning around the time Steve had punched Neil, and carefully pulled the bigger teen to his feet.

Neil stepped forward again but Steve held his ground, gaze unflinching. After all, he had faced not only demodogs but a demogorgon as well. "I don't want you near my house again," he told Steve then met Billy's eyes, "and I hope you know what the consequences are, boy."

"Kindly, sir, fuck off," Steve grumbled, hobbling towards the door with Billy resting his dead weight on him.

Once outside, his anger started to drain away and in its place worry started to seep in. He tried to be as quick as possible to get Billy to his car but it was still a slow process.

Max got out of the car to open the door for them. Her eyes darted to the already black-blue bruises Billy's open shirt showed and she cringed. However, she remained quiet and just got into the front seat so Billy could lay out in the back.

"We're going back to my place and the two of you are spending the night there," Steve said as he started the car. He looked in the rearview mirror at Billy but the other male was scarily despondent. He hoped it was temporary; he would take Billy's anger over his defeated silence.

Steve sighed. "When we get there I'll have to call Hopper to let him know what happened," he warned them.

"I like Hopper. He'll know what to do," Max said as she stared out the window. She looked at Steve with a suddenly determined look. "I want to call Lucas too."

Steve felt his heart warm because that was more like the Max he knew. He reached over and lightly ruffled her hair, ignoring her hands trying to bat him away, and said, "of course, you can call anyone you want once we get to my place."

She smiled at that, pleased.

Steve felt himself relax a little at the sight. His eyes met Billy's in the rearview mirror and he was surprised to see Billy had a small smile on his face too. Steve smiled back. He refocused on the road but he was still smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I keep getting surprised by how many people are liking this so far. It honestly makes me so happy. Thank you to everyone that has read this :)
> 
> Also, I thought I should point out here that Billy is going to have quite a few mood swings. He's been through a lot so his emtions are a little all over the place. I thought it would make more sense for me to mention that so it wasn't confusing how one moment he seems quiet and the next he's exploding only to return to being calm.

When they pulled up to his house, Steve had to pull Billy to his feet and the two awkwardly stumbled to the door. He pulled the bigger boy over to the living room to lay him on the couch.

"Can I use the phone first?" Max asked, her eyes trained on the wall phone. She grinned when Steve told her she could and raced off to start calling whoever she needed to.

Carefully, Steve sat beside Billy who was curled up on the couch. "Uhm, is there anything you need right now?" Steve asked. He watched Billy, wanting some sort of sign as to how to proceed, but the other boy's face was worryingly blank. "I'm going to get you some ice and ointment but is there anything else you want?" He continued.

Billy scowled. "Why're you even being nice, Harrington?" he asked, hands curling into fists at his side. He glared up at Steve. "You think it's fun to see me like this or something?"

Steve frowned. "Billy, of course I don't think it's fun to see you like this," he disagreed. He looked down at his hands and sighed. "Yeah, man, you can be a complete and total arsehole," he ignored Billy's derisive snort to add, "but that was all kinds of fucked up you didn't deserve."

"I'm all kinds of fucked up," Billy muttered before he rolled over so his back was to Steve.

Taking the hint, Steve got up to go collect the ice and first aid kit. On his way back to Billy, he stopped by the phone to check up on Max. She seemed fine for the moment, though Steve knew she was likely putting on a front. He decided to leave her to talk with Lucas.

He returned to Billy's side and gently touched his shoulder to get his attention. Instantly, the world tilted as he fell backwards onto the floor. Steve blinked in confusion only to realise Billy had shoved him away. "Hey, man, I'm trying to help," Steve protested, sitting up to frown at the other teenager.

"I never asked for your help," Billy replied hotly, glaring at Steve.

"Should I have just left you there to get the shit beat out of you by your own father? Should I have just let him kill you?" Steve hissed, angry himself now. "That's what would have happened, Billy!" He yelled. "That man would have continued and you would have died. Yeah, maybe he would have stopped tonight. Would that always be the case?!" Steve continued, voice getting louder the angrier he got. He suddenly deflated. He knew he was only angry because he was worried about Billy - because he cared. "Would he always stop before going too far?" he whispered quietly.

The two stared at each other for a long, tense moment.


	4. Chapter 4

After a long, incredibly tense moment where neither of them said or did anything besides stare one another down, Billy just nodded.

Steve, feeling relieved beyond words, silently and slowly moved forward to help him take care of his wounds. He looked at the blue-black-purple marks that he could see from the opening of Billy's shirt but knew there were more hidden beneath the fabric. He bit his lip, unsure how willing he would be to remove his shirt, but Billy seemed to already know what he wanted and simply undid his shirt to remove it.

As he thought, there were more marks. They were all over Billy's ribs and stomach and he could see they curled around his side to his back.

However, the old scars from previous beatings were what really got Steve. They were faded and hard to see, almost impossible if one wasn't already looking. Steve took a shaky breath in as his eyes roved over Billy's body.

He carefully started to tend to the bruises by applying the cream. He was as gentle as he could be as he rubbed the cream into the bruised flesh. Then he lifted the bag of ice he had grabbed and wrapped in a cloth.

"I can do this much, Harrington," Billy grunted and took the ice from him.

Steve felt it best to not fight him on this and simply let him take the ice and apply it himself. "Is there anywhere else it hurts?" he asked cautiously.

Billy rolled his eyes. "No."

Steve nodded. "Okay." He stood, stretching his back, and added, "let me know when you need more ice or something."

"Yeah, whatever," Billy muttered in reply.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve walked over to Max who was still talking on the phone. He waited patiently for her to finish before he asked if he could call Hopper. She handed the phone over to him.

Before he could call, though, she said, "I think I should go home tomorrow."

Steve paused. "You want to go back there?" He asked incredulously.

She frowned. "Of course not," she answered, "but my mum is there and she's going to get worried." She looked at the floor for a moment and then raised her gaze to his. "I want to convince her to leave but I can't do that here."

Steve suddenly felt his admiration for Max rise. He already admired her bravery but now he realised how truly strong she was. "You're one brave kid," he told her, ruffling her hair fondly. She batted his hands away with an eye roll.

"Yeah, well, I guess I've had to be," she muttered but she managed a smile at his concerned look. Her eyes then drifted to the living room where Billy was still nursing his wounds. "I think he should stay here," she added softly.

"You still mad at him?" Steve asked curiously.

"Yeah," Max said with a nod, "but that doesn't mean I want Neil to kill him."

Steve looked in the direction of the living room where he knew Billy would be. "He can stay here as long as he needs," he said. 

Honestly, Steve had already been thinking that he would let Max and Billy stay for however long they needed but with Max wanting to return to her mother he only needed to worry about Billy. Well, he thought, that wasn't true. He would still worry about Max, he was always worrying about his kids, but he would only need to think about setting Billy up comfortably in his house in a more permanent way.

"Of course, you're always welcome here," Steve told her seriously.

"I know," she said with a genuine, warm smile. "We all do."

Steve smiled. He was glad that all his little shits knew they could count on him if they needed.

"You should probably call Hopper before you get all teary-eyed," Max teased and ran away laughing when Steve tried to ruffle her hair again.

"Little shit," he muttered fondly. Then he took a deep breath, lifted the phone and called Hopper.

It called for a long time before Hopper answered. "What the hell do you want at this time of night?" Hopper asked gruffly, obviously having been woken up and not happy about it.

"Hello to you too, chief," Steve muttered.

Hopper made an irritated grumbling noise. "Seriously, kid, if this isn't serious then I am hanging up and going the hell back to bed," he threatened.

"Well, I kind of kidnapped Max and Billy," Steve said casually. He tried not to laugh at Hopper's angry swear. "I'm kidding," he assured but then awkwardly added, "kind of."

"Harrington, I am really not in the mood for this," Hopper warned. However, he sounded much more awake and alert. He started to properly sound like Chief Hopper. That was what Steve really needed.

"I went to Max's house to take her to that d&d thing the kids really like but when I got there she was crying and I heard screaming. I told Max to wait in the car. Then I went into the next room where Neil Hargrove was beating Billy," Steve explained as quickly as he could."Billy was on the floor and... and his dad was just kicking him," Steve said, trying not to get angry or too emotional. He needed to get the facts out to Hopper so the older man could help them. Taking a deep breath, Steve continued, "so I sort of got in a fight with Neil. I threatened him with you but he said that his friends could destroy you or something. I then threatened him with my fanily's lawyers and I think he realised how serious that could be because he told me to get out of his house and take Billy."

The line was silent for a long moment as Hopper processed all of the new information. Then there was a loud, weary sigh.

"The two of them with you now?" Hopper asked.

"Yes." Steve felt someone watching him and looked over to see Billy in the doorway. The other teenager was watching him intently.

"They can spend the night with you, right?" Hopper asked.  
   
Steve turned away from Billy. "Yeah, of course they can. I've already told Max that her and Billy are welcome to stay as long as they want to." He then remembered what Max had said before the phone call. "Max told me she wanted to go back tomorrow but," Steve looked over at Billy, "she said Billy should probably stay."

"That's good. I'll need to head to the station to sort some stuff but then I'll be visiting you to talk to them," Hopper told him. There was another, quieter voice Steve could just about hear in the background and Hopper placed a hand over the phone to talk quietly to them. Steve assumed that he was explaining the situation to Eleven. Then he was back. "Okay, I should get going now."

"Wait," Steve stopped him before he could go. "When I said I kidnapped the two of them I kind of meant I kidnapped Max," he said with a wince, "I mean obviously she couldn't stay there but I don't think they know she was in my car. I was told to take Billy and he's old enough to make his own choices but Max was in my car before the fighting."

"They know you have Billy but not Max? Okay, great," Hopper muttered. "You should just focus on keeping them happy and healthy and whatever else for now while I focus on fixing this."

Steve grinned. "Will do, chief. Thanks."

Then the line went dead.

"You're a kiddie snatcher, Harrington?" Billy drawled from where he was still leaning against the doorframe.

Steve scowled. "Don't make jokes like that," he grumbled, annoyed.

"It's a little pathetic how your only friends seem to be those little kids," Billy said with a shrug. It turned into a wince halfway through though which took away the effect.

Steve looked at him, long and hard, and frowned. "You say shitty things about people because you want to hurt things the way you've been hurt. I doubt you even mean half the words that come out your mouth."

Billy stalked over to him angrily. He only stopped when they were practically nose to nose.

"I suggest you stop talking about shit you don't understand," Billy hissed. He pushed Steve hard and caused the other boy to stumbled backwards. Billy laughed. "Haven't I already told you to plant your feet?" he muttered.

Steve frowned. "I'm going to set your room up," he said and turned away.

He didn't want to deal with Billy at the moment. He understood that the guy was in a shitty, toxic situation which only fueled his anger issues and arsehole behaviour but Steve still needed a break. There was only so much he could deal with at one time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a little while since I last updated, sorry. I've been increasingly busy. I just wanted to say though that no matter how busy I get or how long it takes I will finish this work. I refuse to abandon it :)

"He pissed you off too?" Max asked when she finally found him.

The sudden question startled Steve a little but he laughed. "Yeah," he admitted.

"He pisses me off," Max complained. "He's just a no good mouth-breather."

Steve frowned. "He's not all bad," he protested gently but laughed again at the girl's sour look. "There's a lot going on with him which makes him angry," he tried to explain.

"He shouldn't be so nasty though," Max grumbled, folding her arms and frowning. She huffed, annoyed, and added, "there is no reason he should treat me or Lucas or anyone else the way he does. Especially if he already knows how it feels."

"I said he's dealing with a lot and angry because of it not I think what he's doing is okay," Steve pointed out. He definitely didn't agree with the way Billy dealt with things but that didn't mean he couldn't understand. "I hate the way he treats you and the others. It's horrible. I just know that people make mistakes, some more than others, and anyone can become better."

Max unfolded her arms and stopped frowning. "You think he can become better?" She asked genuinely.

"He could," Steve said. "That doesn't mean he will. It also doesn't mean that it will be easy." He smiled at her then. "But he can."

Max nodded thoughtfully.

Steve appreciated that she was taking what he said on board rather than just ignoring it. He knew she was angry with Billy and he knew she had every right to be. However, Steve couldn't help but feel Billy deserved better than what he was dealing with. He wanted Max to see that Billy wasn't horrible for no reason - Billy was just trying to cope.

Suddenly, Steve clapped his hands together to change the subject. "This room can be your one for tonight," he told her. He gestured around the guest room they were currently standing in. "It's not the fanciest or anything but it will do for the night."

Max laughed. "Oh, woe is me, how will I ever survive without a king sized bed," she said sarcastically, her eyes pointedly staring at the large bed in the room.

Steve blushed. "Uh, right," he chuckled awkwardly. "I can see why Lucas likes you so much."

Then it was Max's turn to blush brightly.

Steve thought he should probably go look for some clothes for Billy and Max to sleep in. The first place he went was his own room to search. He grabbed a pair of sweats and a shirt that was slightly too big for him for Billy to use. He found an old shirt of his that was now too small for Max. Then he had to go to his mother's room to find pajama bottoms because his own were all far too large for the girl. He was glad his mother was such a small woman.

Looking in his parents room, Steve was reminded that he should probably inform his parents of the situation. He knew they would probably be fine with Billy and Max spending the night but he hoped they would understand the need for Billy's extended stay.

He walked back to the room Max would be staying in to find it empty. He folded her night clothes and placed them on the end of the bed.

Then he made his way back downstairs. He walked passed Max who was once again on the phone, though this time it sounded like she was talking to Eleven. He was glad the two girls had become such good friends.

"I'll need that when you're done," he told her when she looked at him. She looked disappointed but understanding. "I just need to let my parents know you're here in case they come home early," he said, "I promise after that I won't need the phone again and you can use it as much as you want to."

She grinned, looking delighted by that thought.

Steve didn't want to rush Max on the phone so he decided he should probably see about making some food. He had no idea when Billy and Max had last eaten. He made his way to the kitchen to see what food they had. However, he realised he also had absolutely no idea what either of them ate.

He sighed. Steve was going to have to ask Billy.

He turned to leave the kitchen and nearly had a heart attack at finding Billy in the doorway watching him. Steve had no idea when the other boy had gotten there or how long he had been standing there. "Jesus, Hargrove, we need to get you a bell or something," Steve hissed, clutching at his still racing heart.

Billy actually laughed at that. "It's not my fault you're so oblivious," Billy said nonchalantly.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered, finally feeling his heart rate slow down.

"What are doing?" Billy asked.

"What does it look like?" Steve retorted. "I was thinking of making us all some food."

Billy nodded. "That's good of you."

"Uh, yeah," Steve mumbled, feeling suddenly embarassed. He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. "I wanted to ask you if you or Max have any allergies or anything."

"I will eat anything and Max will eat anything but mushrooms," Billy told him. 

"Thanks, okay," Steve replied. He turned back to the food they had available. "Then is pizza okay?" He asked. He wanted to keep it simple because the long day they had all had.

Max burst into the room then with a large grin. "Yes, pizza!"

Steve laughed. He looked over to Billy who looked like he was trying to fight down a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love Max. She's honestly so adorable. It's so fun to write her. It's also really, really fun to write Steve's interactions with her.
> 
> Anyways, thank you to everyone who reads this. I appreciate everyone who bookmarks, comments, kudos and just takes the time to read this :)


	7. Chapter 7

"Steve, what's wrong?" His mother asked the moment she picked up the phone. She was annoyingly good at telling that something was up with him, even without having to see or hear him. His mother seemed to just have a sense for when Steve was not doing okay. "Sweetie, is everything okay?" She asked.

Steve sighed, leaning heavily against the wall. "Yeah. I mean, no but it will be," he answered.

"Sweetie, you'll need to explain more than that," she coaxed gently, obviously curious to know what had upset her son.

"I have this friend that's in a lot of trouble," he told her. "His name is Billy and he's dealing with a lot at home right now. I thought, since we have so much extra space, he could spend some time here. He has a little sister, Max, and she's staying tonight but I've told her she can come back anytime."

"What sort of trouble are they in?" His mother asked cautiously.

"Why does that matter?" Steve asked defensively. He knew he couldn't let his mother kick Billy out - he just couldn't. He stood up from the wall, aggressively running his spare hand through his hair, and said, "they needed my help so I'm helping them. I thought you'd be supportive about this."

"Hey, sweetie, calm down. I'm not going to make you send them out," his mother soothed. She sounded slightly distressed by the thought of kicking them out. "I just want to know if you or them are in any danger that I should know about."

Steve slumped back against the wall. He felt so relieved that his mother wasn't against this. "They have an abusive household," Steve told her quietly.

On the other end of the line, Steve heard a worried gasp. "Oh, Stevie," she whispered. Steve could hear how worried and upset she was. "Have you called the police?" She asked, sounding concerned. "That is serious."

"I know, I know... I have called the police," Steve assured her.

"I'll call the family lawyers and see what they say about helping those poor children," she told him. Her voice sounded stronger now, less worried, and much more determined with a goal to focus on. "Don't you worry, sweetie, I'll speak to your father and we'll make sure that those kids are safe."

"Thank you, mother," Steve replied.

"You're welcome, Stevie," she answered. "The first moment we're free we'll be coming home to see you and help with those friends of yours."

After they bid each other goodbye, Steve put the phone back and sighed with relief. "That went well," he murmured to himself thoughtfully.


End file.
